L'Austral Cruise Photos

Day 4: Dubrovnik, Croatia

L'Austral approached Dubrovnik
shortly after 8:30 a.m. In the distance, we could see the Old City with its 2 km
or 1¼ miles of medieval ramparts.

The Port of Dubrovnik implemented a "2+1" mooring policy for
cruise ships a few years ago, which means that--at any given time--two ships are
given berths in the suburban port of Gruž while one is permitted to anchor
offshore near the Old City. We were lucky: L'Austral was dropping its
anchor offshore, and we'd be able to go directly into the Old Harbor by tender
(a trip of only a few minutes) instead of being a 45-minute walk or a bus ride
from town.

From our balcony, we could see swimmers on a beach east of
the Old City that was sheltered by a huge cavern.

While we waited to go ashore, two dancers from the ship's
entertainment troupe rehearsed their show moves by the Pool.

Meanwhile, a local sightseeing boat and a gaggle of sea
kayaks headed toward the Old City.

Sailors began to lowered the tenders while other crew members anchored the ship.

Soon, the first tender arrived at the ship's marina, ready to
take passengers ashore. (This tender's pilot was one of four cadets from a
French maritime academy who were interning on L'Austral.)